Solar Power Plant Completed in Minamisoma City's Haramachi-higashi District

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) and Sumitomo Corporation Tohoku Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture; President and CEO: Tsutomu Morikawa; hereinafter, “Sumisho Tohoku”) (these two companies are hereinafter collectively referred to as “the Sumitomo Corporation Group”) have engaged in a solar power project (hereinafter, “this Project”) in the Haramachi-higashi district of Minamisoma City (Fukushima Prefecture) through Solar Power Minamisoma-Haramachi Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “SPC”). In December 2018, the power plant was completed and has since gone into commercial operation.

As part of this Project, a group of financial institutions was organized by Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Koji Fujiwara; hereinafter, “Mizuho Bank”), as an arranger provided funding to SPC, while Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Head Office: Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture; President and CEO: Mamoru Hatazawa; hereinafter, “Toshiba ESS”) and Taisei Corporation (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yoshiyuki Murata; hereinafter, “Taisei”) were placed in charge of engineering, procurement and construction.

This Project aims to contribute to the reconstruction in Fukushima Prefecture from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The solar power plant generates the capacity of 32.3MW that will entail the installation of around 120,000 solar panels in the land(approximately 46 hectares) belonging to Minamisoma City that was damaged by the tsunami in 2011. The electricity generated by this plant is equivalent to the consumption of around 10,000 typical households, and will supply to retail electric power companies on the basis of Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system.

The Sumitomo Corporation Group already operates the largest solar power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in the Kashima district of Minamisoma City (commenced commercial operation: March 2018; generation capacity: 59.9MW). Together with this Project, the Group is now responsible for mega-solar power generation projects providing Fukushima Prefecture with electricity that totals 92.2MW. In October 2012, Minamisoma City formulated the “Minamisoma City Renewable Energy Vision”, which aims to replace the city’s entire power consumption with renewable energy power generation by 2030. The Sumitomo Corporation Group will contribute in promoting renewable energies in Minamisoma through this Project.

Sumitomo Corporation is actively involved in developing and operating renewable energy power generation projects worldwide, and it currently possesses 1,000MW in generating capacity. It will be directing future effort toward discovering promising renewable energy and other electric power or infrastructure project opportunities, pursuing these both inside and outside Japan.

Sumisho Tohoku is actively engaged in renewable energy project such as this Project, biomass power generation (Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture) and other renewable energy projects in the Tohoku region. It is also pursuing its endeavors in agriculture, a key industry for the Tohoku region, in aims to support further development of the local communities.

Mizuho Bank organized the project finance for this Project as an arranger. A mega-bank with 10 business locations in the Tohoku region, it secures financing for renewable energy power generation projects such as this Project, and also helps out in restoration efforts by supplying recovery funding and supporting “sixth-sector industrialization” of the agricultural, forestry and fishery industries. The bank will continue to marshal the full capabilities of the Mizuho Group to assist earthquake-afflicted areas.

Toshiba ESS carries out solar/wind power generation and other renewable energy projects globally. The company offers a one-stop solution from site selection to system construction for solar power projects. Toshiba ESS will continue to develop products and services that meet the wide-ranging needs of solar power generation systems and will contribute to the revitalization of the disaster-hit areas.

Taisei has been part of numerous restoration and recovery projects since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Sharing responsibility for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) in the project, Taisei is dedicated to assist local residents through renewable energies. In doing so, it has developed a simple batter pile foundation (T-Root®) for mounting solar panels, seeking to shorten construction periods and reduce costs.

Project company: Solar Power Minamisoma-Haramachi Co., Ltd.
Shareholder:Sumitomo Corporation 80%
Sumitomo Corporation Tohoku Co., Ltd. 20%
Finance Arranger:Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
Construction contractors:Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation
Taisei Corporation, etc.
Project site area: Approximately 46 hectares
Generation capacity:32.3MW
Start of commercial operation:December 10, 2018